By Chris Lawrence, with reporting from pool producer Larry Shaughnessy

U.S. Marines waiting for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to speak at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan Wednesday were ordered to leave the room and place their weapons outside.

The request, relayed by Sgt. Maj. Brandon Hall, was unusual because it's not customary to disarm for a defense secretary visit, but the Marines did as they were told. About two dozen unarmed Afghan soldiers also were in attendance.

Panetta arrived in Afghanistan Wednesday for a two-day visit amid heightened tensions after an American soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians in their homes Sunday.

The order to disarm came from Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus, who commands troops in Helmand province.

Gurganus later told reporters the decision had nothing to do with the weekend shooting, and said it was because the Afghan soldiers in attendance were unarmed and he did not want them treated differently than the Marines.

"This is not a big deal," Gurganus said. But he then added that "you've got one of the most important people in the world in the room," referring to Panetta. When it was pointed out that this had not been the custom, Gurganus - who is new to the post - replied, "There's a new sheriff in town."

A senior defense official told CNN that Gurganus made the decision to have all coalition troops disarm on Tuesday, but "the order never got passed down the line to the individual units. So, unfortunately, it wasn't until all the Marines were sitting down Wednesday that anyone realized what the general really wanted. It looked bad. But at that point they needed to comply with the order."

Several Marines said they had never seen a situation like this, although they do not believe the decision resulted from any security concerns. The senior defense official said Gurganus was under orders to make partnership a priority, and he felt that "it wouldn't be right to have armed Marines sitting next to unarmed Afghan soldiers. He wants to promote the mission of partnership."

Security procedures involving the handling of weapons vary according to protocols issued by International Security Assistance Force command, as well as the discretion of individual regional and base commanders.

At some bases, troops entering mess halls are required to remove the clip from their weapon and clear any rounds from the chamber. The senior defense official also said security has been increased in varying degrees in the past month or so, following the Quran burning. For example, in Kabul, as recently as seven days ago troops were required to carry their weapons everywhere, with the ammunition clip loaded but no round chambered, the official said.

The order for the Marines to disarm at Camp Leatherneck was not connected to a separate incident that took place Wednesday at an adjoining British military base in Afghanistan, the defense official said.

In that incident, an Afghan national stole a vehicle and drove it through at least one layer of perimeter security onto the runway at Camp Bastion around the same time Panetta was arriving there from a previous visit to Kyrgystan, a defense official said. A British soldier was injured by the vehicle before it was driven into a ditch, a defense official said. The driver ran out of the vehicle on fire. Coalition troops were able to extinguish the fire and he was transported for treatment, according to Pentagon spokesman George Little.

The Afghan national was wearing a "desert utility uniform," similar to the ones coalition troops give to translators and other unarmed locals working with them, a defense official said. Coalition troops searched the man after putting out the flames and apprehending him, but they did not find an explosive device on him, according to the official. No motive or the Afghan's intent was known.

NATO officials said Panetta was never in any danger during his time at Camp Bastion. His plane was diverted upon landing, according to Little.
Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion are adjoining bases located in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The United States runs the facilities at Camp Leatherneck, while the British oversee Camp Bastion.

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Think any of my brother jarheads gave it a thought ? We're all crazy enough to understand the point made by the General.... and calm enough to follow the order knowing that others had our backs....in VN I went to a Bob Hope show unarmed because it would have upset people at home to see guns...but I also knew who was out of camera range...no sweat. Many of the people ranting here have no military experience...fewer are Marines.

The American government doesn't care about it's service men and women. They're about to get involved in yet another illegal conflict and sacrifice more American blood for their special interests(Syria, Iran).

"(Major General) Gurganus later told reporters the decision had nothing to do with the weekend shooting, and said it was because the Afghan soldiers in attendance were unarmed and he did not want them treated differently than the Marines."

Horse hockey!

First, you NEVER ask Soldiers or Marines to disarm themselves in war zone for ANY reason!

Second, it was ALREADY policy for Afghanis attending such gatherings to do so UNARMED, so the general's claim is an excuse, not a reason, and was a lie to boot.

Seems like our generals are getting so PC they forget to include their BALLS when they put their pants on. I would be willing to bet hat someone in Panetta's entourage requested this action, probably generalizing from one Army NCO snapping and going on a killing rampage against Afghan civilians (maybe as revenge for the seven US soldiers murdered in cold blood by their Afghan counterparts).

The act of one soldier should not make our SECDEF scared of our own troops. What these Marines were told to do in disarming themselves was shameful and wrong.

Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus must be relieved of command for dereliction of duty and putting US military personnel lives at risk in a hostile country. Especially in light of very recent events. He shows very poor judgment at the expense of US Marines. I have a hard time believing that Maj. Gen. Gurganus is a dedicated military commander; he is more concerned about politics than the men and women serving under him. He is a real coward!

Ok correction they do make mention of it but only to make the ludicrous assertion that the two aren't related.
Man drives exploding truck at his plane in then he later requests disarming of soldiers, but oh no, the two aren't related nothing to see here.

Unbelievable! Marines unarmed in a war zone! So what if Camp Leatherneck is a 'secure' base. So what that the Afghans were asked to disarm! Might I remind everyone what happened on January 15, 2011 in Iraq? Two US Army Soldiers were killed, one wounded shot in the head by an Iraqi they had been training and should have only had access to "dummy ammo" So, the statement given by Maj. Gen. Mark Gurganus is ridiculous. He puts his own troops in the same basket? No way, no excuse. The Afghans should be unarmed, so what if they felt "different"! I understand the cautious, no doubt there are fools out there, military and otherwise. However, they are everywhere including the highest positions in our government.

General Mark "the anus" Gurganus should be relieved of command immediately. And if the Commandant of the Marine Corps agrees this was a reasonable and prudent action, he should resign. Forcing officers to surrender sidearms is an insult. It demonstrated "feather-merchant" Gurganus is not fit to command a latrine cleaning squad and has the judgement of a moth.

when obama gave a speech at u.s. naval academy, he would not go on stage until every naval officer had been disarmed. everyone had to give up their swords, that are part and participle of the oath they take. caveat emtor; defend your country with paper, not the sword, hah ha hah.

Somebody really needs to go out more...
"you've got one of the most important people in the world in the room," referring to Panetta.

If soldiers were disarmed in order to be treated the same as Muslim soldeirs, it is fair enough but begs the question, why the hell do you have soldiers you cant trust and why might they want you dead... Anybody who thinks you can invade a country then torture, abuse and massacre a poulation at will, then ask them to join your army, needs their head examined...

Disgraceful. A marine general bowing down tomdomthe pc thing. I would suggest that the next time pancetta shows up Marines should remain outside and armed. To ask Marines in an active combat zone to disarm is dangerous and could have led to a tragic event. I don't care about pancetta, he's a political hack and could be replaced in seconds.

This is stupid. so now we dont trust our own troops? then our we are further insulted by a lame ass excuse of not being treated different from afghans. what a slap in the face. this is to me and all my brothers in arms Go fight be injured scarred and die for us, but dnt sit around me armed while i give some lame ass speech no one cares about while you could be doing better things

Hey! I like Donald Duck better than Mickey Mouse. But I do agree that Mickey could do a much better job than Leon (quaking in my boots) Panetta

March 15, 2012 at 7:30 am |

VN_Libya

Donald Duck

March 15, 2012 at 7:32 am |

puka mana

Who should be the sec of defense ? Mother Teresa if she were alive. The Dali Lama should be, cause he's not into war, rape and plunder, and colonization. George Carlin would be my other choice.

March 15, 2012 at 12:46 pm |

Jbake

The reason why the marines were disarmed is because the speech was not just for the Marines, it was for the Afghan National Army there too. So, if the afghani's were told to put away their weapons and the Marines got to keep theirs it would look bad. The idea here is, Panetta was worried about the ANA shooting him, not the marines. But, as I said, one Army without weapons sitting with another WITH weapons shows unfairness and would further hurt the situation the U.S. Army Soldier got all coalition forces in (God bless him though).

I would like to add: This procedure shouldn't be looked so hard into. If it is defense people are worried about for these Marines, don't be worried. There is a perimeter outside of leatherneck with towers and guards, a roving guard on the ground, and probably numerous patrols outside of the base. Every local national that works on or near leatherneck probably has an escort as well.

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.